{Cleanse Anyone?}

Yesterday began a cleanse for me. 

It's not necessarily one I want but need for an exam.

I've had ongoing heartburn since 1999. It's gotten worse each year. 

When I first started getting it I only had to take 1 10mg Nexium pill about once every 6 months.

Now, I have to take 1 40mg Nexium pill twice a day.

If I forget to take it, talk about pain! I get nauseous and I'm in so much pain all day long.

So, I went to see a specialist and she diagnosed me with GERD (Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease). She also set me up to have an EGD (Esophagogastroduodenoscopy) done. It's a test to examine the lining of the esophagus (the tube that connects your throat to your stomach), stomach, and first part of the small intestine. It is done with a small camera (flexible endoscope) that is inserted down the throat.

Sounds fun, right?

That's not even the best part. The best part is I also get a Colonoscopy as well. Yay.

So, to prepare for the procedure I drank all this stuff...

What's not listed is the Gatorade I could drink also. It's more recommended to keep me hydrated.

I had to work Saturday night from 5:30pm until 5:30am Sunday morning. Sunday was the day before prep, so after midnight I quit eating at work. I felt fine and drank lots of water, a lemon/lime Gatorade, and had soup broth.

It wasn't until I woke-up Sunday that the torture began. Not being able to eat solid foods is horrible. I ate drank chicken broth soup and had lots of water when I woke-up. Later a slight headache began. I also had an orange Popsicle. The only "solid" food I could have.

At 6p.m. I had to take the first does of SUPREP. Holy moly, it IS one of the worst tasting things I've ever had to put in this mouth. It's a clear bottle and they don't give it any particular flavor. I'm not even sure I can tell you what it tastes like. Gross, disgusting, horrible... these are all descriptions that don't even come close to describing it. I gagged with each sip. Even writing about it now makes me slightly nauseous. The Suprep mix start working within like 15 minutes and still hasn't stopped. Gross. Anyway.

This morning, I had to take the other bottle of Suprep. Today was the worst day of the liquid diet. I was extremely miserable. I had to wake-up at 6:30am to take this next dose. I'll also say that with both doses, I got the chills and just couldn't get warm enough. 

So, at the hospital, I got an IV of just fluids for an hour prior to hydrate me. They said everyone is always dehydrated when they get there so they just give everyone an IV. An hour later, they wheel me back to the room and have me lay on my left side. They put this mouth bite guard in my mouth so I wouldn't clamp down in the video tube and so the video tube wouldn't bang against my teeth. Once they gave  me the sedation stuff, I do not remember the EGD procedure at all. I do remember being brought out of my daze during the colonoscopy with extreme stomach cramps. They had to give me more meds to continue with that procedure. 

Once I did come out of the sedation, I did have silent tears flowing. It was painful. The stomach cramps anyway. I was extremely relieved it was all done. I hope I never have to do this again. It was horrible. The doc did come in to release me and said the colonoscopy looked good. I'll have to wait a few weeks until my check-up appointment to find out about the EGD.

Waiting to be released